In a Wall Street Journal Op/Ed entitled, “The Cronkite Tragedy,” James Taranto argues that journalistic icon Walter Cronkite will be remembered for two things: a six decades-long career and an editorial that had far-reaching consequences for the business he loved.
Taranto refers to the editorial aired at the end of a report on the Vietnam War, which aired on February 27, 1968. Cronkite had just returned from a trip to Vietnam, and added his own personal commentary to the end of the report. His assessment that a stalemate …

Twenty-eight years ago, Walter Cronkite retired as anchor of the CBS Evening News after reaching the then-mandatory retirement age of 65. A quarter-century later, he was back on the air on that same broadcast, introducing Katie Couric.
When Cronkite died on Friday, CBS made a decision to force him into retirement a second time, by pulling the recording of Couric’s introduction because “it just didn’t feel right,” according to CBS News president Sean McManus via the New York Times:
“It’s been a wonderful presence and a wonderful way to remember Walter, …

Perhaps the best quote I’ve heard in the days since Walter Cronkite passed away on Friday at age 92 came from Ted Koppel:
“You will never again have a day where one man or one woman will say, ‘All right, listen up, America.  I’m gonna tell you what happened.  At then at the end, I’m gonna say, ‘That’s the way it was.’ And you’re gonna believe me.’’”
Sad, but true.

“Old anchormen, you see, don’t fade away, they just keep coming back for more. And that’s the way it is.” — Walter Cronkite Signing off his last CBS Evening News broadcast
I think much of the country was still expecting an early April Fools announcement on March 6, 1981, when Walter Cronkite signed off for the last time as anchor of The CBS Evening News.  Most people who were regular news watchers just couldn’t imagine the evening news without him.
The legendary newsman has passed away at the age of 92.
It was …

The other day, I was riding with one of my producers and an anchor to a promo shoot and we were talking about the deaths of Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett.  I remarked, half jokingly, that since these things are always said to occur in threes, I wondered who the remaining celebrity would be.
We immediately talked about Walter Cronkite, who was said recently to be at death’s door.  His family has since issued a statement disputing those reports, claiming that while Cronkite is 92, suffering from the effects of old …

Multiple news sources are reporting that legendary newscaster Walter Cronkite, the man once named ‘The Most Trusted Man in America,” is gravely ill.
He’s 92, and said to have been in declining health for some time, though no specifics are being given. Some speculate that it’s more his memory that’s failing than his health in general.
I worked with an anchor years ago who interviewed him at some appearance in Columbia. I was told then — and this was easily 15 years ago — that Cronkite wasn’t a fan of …

“Breaking news” has been around far longer than just 45 years, but the concept of live, ongoing coverage of a developing story really got its start on this day in 1963, when an episode of As The World Turns on CBS was interrupted by a bulletin from CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite.
To call the coverage of John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas primitive is an understatement; the first few bulletins were done as voiceovers with a “CBS News Bulletin” slide on the screen because no camera was warmed up in …

I had an interesting dinner conversation the other night with a co-worker. We were talking about the 40 anniversary of Bobby Kennedy’s assassination in California, and we realized that this November 22nd will be the 45th anniversary of John Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas.
We discussed all of the JFK conspiracy theories, and my co-worker asked me if I thought there had been a conspiracy to kill JFK or if I thought Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone. I said that I believe a conspiracy was definitely possible, but that …

It was a rough day.
There is a widespread belief, propogated by clever little catch phrases like, “If it bleeds, it leads,” that whenever tragedy strikes, people in a newsroom are practically ready to throw a party.
Such catch phrases, which some are convinced perfectly sums up everything that journalism is, usually come from people who have never worked in the field themselves, and therefore don’t know what they’re talking about.
It’s true that when a big story breaks, there is something of a rush that occurs. I would not presume to …

Cable network TV Land just wrapped up their countdown of the 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments, as selected by TV Guide. The list of moments is sure to bring back lots of happy memories, and I was happy to see clips from popular game shows make the list.
The 19th most unexpected moment, for instance, came on down in a 1977 episode of “The Price is Right,” in which the legendary Johnny Olson calls the name of a contestant dressed in a tube top. What happened next is something …